The Dating Game
by SilverPedals1402
Summary: Never in his life has Tony ever expected that he would take part in a dating game. He should learn to stop expecting things because he should be used to surprises by now. After all, he was Tony Stark and Iron Man.
1. Chapter 1

**So I've gone and done something I didn't really want to do at the time, but you know me...I couldn't resist. BUT I promise I haven't forgotten about my other stories and/or the requests I've got. I'm just taking advantage of my last week of summer. **

**Disclaimer: IMAA belongs to Marvel/Nicktoons. Can I stop saying that? No? Darn it...**

"Wait, you're serious about this!?" he demanded as he struggled against his friend's grip.

"Tony, just relax," his friend assured him as he directed the blindfolded teen to their destination, "it's not like the world is going to end because of this."

Tony shook his head, not liking the fact that he was blindfolded for the past ten minutes. "For me it is, Rhodey. I mean, think about it!"

"You're just afraid that you're going to choose Pepper," Rhodey teased.

"I'm not afraid!" Tony protested, trying once more to free himself from his blindness and his friend's surprisingly strong grip.

This has been going on for the past twenty minutes. He spent half of it arguing on how the whole idea was just a big giant mistake and the other half, he spent blind while being led to the "top secret" location. It started out with two simple words from Rhodey. Two words that would have any teen in his right mind to flee for dear life. Except, Tony had the unfortunate disadvantage as far as running could go. Not only did Rhodey have an iron grip, he was quicker than a rabbit!

Now all of this excitement was due to two words and two words only. The words could have been something way less complicated and uneasy if they were something simple like: "Let's eat!", or "I'm tired!", or even "water sports". Though, water sports wasn't Tony's strong suit. Any sport on that matter. But he'd take water sports over what the real two words were any day.

Actually, he'd take "blind date" better than this. Because everyone knows that blind date sounds way better than "dating game". In a blind date, there is only one other person involved. No questions about it. But when a dating game is involved, there's generally three other people involved and there's always a chance you'll pick the wrong person. Not that a blind date always picks the right person, but in a blind date, there's generally more thought put into it.

Right?

"Why do I have to be blind folded?" Tony asked as he was directed up a fleet of stairs. "I already know what you want me to do. And my answer is still a no!"

"We don't want you to see the contestants," Rhodey explained. "You might be biased then and know who would say what."

"Well, I already know Pepper is one of them," Tony said, "And the only other girl I really know is Whitney…Dude, Whitney's not here is she?"

Rhodey chuckled. "No, Whitney's not here and neither is Pepper."

"What? Why?" Tony demanded.

Rhodey choked back a laugh. "She had to run some errands for her dad, so we had to improvise."

"Improvise?"

Rhodey stopped Tony in his tracks and opened the door in front of them, then he continued to lead Tony through their destination to where he sat Tony down in a chair. Tony instantly went to undo the blindfold, but Rhodey beat him to it and held his arms at his side.

"What are you doing?" Tony asked as he struggled to get up. He _really_ didn't want to do this. Not if they expected him to honestly take whoever it is out on a date. If it was just for fun, he would have at least thought about it.

He didn't need an answer to his question when he both heard and felt the duct tape as it was wrapped around him and the chair he was sitting in. "Rhodey! Hey, come on! Duct tape? Seriously?"

"Sorry, man," Rhodey apologized, trying to hide the fact that he was grinning widely, "but you'll run away if we don't."

"No, I won't run," Tony said. "Just untie me. You know I don't like being tied up."

"You're not being tied up," Rhodey reminded him, "you're being taped up."

Tony sighed in defeat. Once Rhodey made up his mind, there was no changing it. So he sat there waiting as Rhodey finished up taping him to the chair. His friend even went as far as to tie his legs to the chair. Sometimes he really hated that his friend thought everything through.

"Are you going to take off the blindfold at least?" Tony asked when Rhodey announced that he was finished.

As if to answer his question, the blindfold was removed. Tony flinched away as a bright light hit his unexpecting eyes. He blinked several times getting used to the sudden light and looked around at his surroundings. It was your practical mystery dating game set up. A wall—or in this case, a curtain—was set up between him and the contestants. He assumed on the other side of the makeshift wall there was a set of three chairs.

His jaw practically dropped when he suddenly realized where they were. Words could not describe how angry he was at that moment. For the past ten minutes, Rhodey had been leading him through the streets of New York. He tripped over his own two feet so many times, he lost count. Only to find out that all of that traveling, all of that struggle, was all for nothing. All because Rhodey had him walking in_ circles_ for ten minutes straight! Rhodey was just buying time for the whole thing to be set up, because they just returned to exact same place they started in.

Rhodey's house.

More exact, Rhodey's garage.

He opened his mouth to speak, but Rhodey slapped a hand over mouth. "I know you're upset, but we're sort of keeping your identity a secret as well. You can speak now, the girls aren't in here right now."

He had no intention of playing this game, but he still had to ask, "Won't they recognize my voice?"

"That's why we're using your genius voice modulators!" Rhodey announced, pulled said object out.

It was then that Tony noticed that there was a whole speaker system going on around them. A mic was placed conveniently in front of him with the voice modulator set in place. He imagined that a similar set up was placed in front of the girls place.

"I hate you," he stated glaring as Rhodey pulled a few pieces of folded paper out of his back pocket.

Rhodey handed them to Tony, who read them carefully. "These are the questions that you'll be asking the girls to help you decide who to choose in the end. Just read them out to them and they'll answer one by one."

"I can't ask these questions!" Tony complained.

"Why not," Rhodey asked, "they're simple."

"I'm not playing," Tony stated, dropping the papers to the ground. "Nope. You can't make me!"

"What?" Rhodey questioned. "You have to play! The girls all expect you—"

"I never wanted to play in the first place," Tony replied. "And taping me down isn't helping. I can' barely move my arms!"

"Okay, will you play if I remove the tape?" Rhodey asked.

Tony raised an eyebrow. "Then wouldn't I just run?"

Rhodey chuckled and shook his head. "If you run, then I'm not cleaning the armory for you like I promised."

Tony couldn't say anything to that. During their argument only twenty five minutes ago, Rhodey started throwing out bribes to get Tony to play. Of course, it was hard to bribe a rich genius who could invent anything he ever wanted, but when it came to cleaning, Tony hated it. Not that Rhodey particularly liked cleaning either, but it was the only thing he could think of. Tony never really agreed to that, but Tony knew a good deal when he saw one. But that didn't mean he was giving up on trying to escape the game.

"Fine, I won't run," Tony promised. "Now take this tape off!"

Painfully, Rhodey removed the tape from Tony's body. Once he was finished with that task, Tony looked at Rhodey curiously. "Wait, I'm confused."

"With what?"

"You blindfolded me so I wouldn't see the contestants," Tony began, "but they're not even in here."

"I lied, I just wanted to mess with you and keep the location a secret," Rhodey answered.

"Okay, and how did you get these girls to agree to date some random guy?" Tony asked, trying not to get to angry with Rhodey's response.

"Well," Rhodey placed a finger on his chin, "they know it's not some random guy, first of all. Then I think any girl will fall for you if they heard that you were smart, rich, and handsome."

"…"

"Anyways," Rhodey said, "I'll go get the girls. You look over the questions and don't peek!"

Tony sighed as he was left alone. He was tempted to run now that he wasn't tied up. But he thought about a clean armory, and couldn't bring himself to do it. His armory was _never_ clean. And Rhodey was a really organized cleaner as far as he knew. Rhodey wasn't the person to have everything clean all the time, but when he does clean, it'll be the cleanest room anyone had ever seen.

Lost in his thoughts, he hadn't realized that Rhodey had returned and the girls had taken their seats on the other side of the makeshift wall.

"Okay," Rhodey said, getting everyone's attention, "let's test the mic's first."

Rhodey pointed to Tony to say something into the mic, so with a sigh, Tony leaned forward. "Hello." As expected, his voice was adjusted so it wouldn't be recognized as his own.

Rhodey pointed to the person just beyond the makeshift wall. "Girl number one, say something."

"Um…good morning?" the voice turned out to be very squeaky and high pitched.

Rhodey went on to the next person and the final person and nodded in satisfaction. "Alright, they're all working! Now let's get on to the rules shall we?"

"Wait," Tony interjected, "are you acting like a host?"

"Yes, why?"

Tony narrowed his eyes at his closest friend. "This isn't being recorded is it?"

Rhodey smiled nervously. "No, of course not! Why would this be recorded? Ha, you must be joking!"

Tony rolled his eyes with a shake of his head. There was no getting out of it now.

Rhodey cleared his throat and smiled. "Well, onto the rules! The rules are simple. No peeking past the curtain, no asking questions off of the sheet of paper, and your answers must be true and honest!" Rhodey looked at all the contests and Tony and gave them all a thumbs up. "Alright, first question, go!"

Tony sighed. There really was no way out of it.

**This was going to be a oneshot, but just this part was turning out longer than expected, so I figured I'd split it up. On the plus side, it frees up more space to do more things! :) **

**Fun Fact: _I've recently gotten a new puppy and we think he's a coonhound mix. He's such a pain to watch, but he's lucky he's cute.__  
_**

**I plan on having something updated tomorrow (later on today for me) maybe even another chapter for this. Who knows. But something should be up if I don't have to much trouble watching the puppy. :) **

**Hugs and Love, SilverPedals! **


	2. Chapter 2

**So, I did get to post another chapter! My Saturday was a lot busier than it should have been. Doesn't matter, you guys could care less. ^^" So a longer chapter than before! This story is surprisingly easy to write...I love it!**

**Disclaimer: IMAA belongs to its respectful owners. Not me, yeah. We know. Stop reminding me.**

Tony decided that it wasn't worth it to stick around. He instantly regretted agreeing to any of this. Although, he didn't really agree to anything. He just regretted not standing up against Rhodey. Ultimately, he wouldn't end up in this situation in the first place. Instead, he'd be working on something a lot more worthwhile, like his armor for example.

He sighed and looked down at the paper. Did he have to answer them in order or could he choose which question he liked best? Then maybe he'd be able to avoid the embarrassing questions involving romantic dates and the likes of that. Unsure what he was supposed to do, he voiced his curiosity.

"Do whatever you'd like," Rhodey answered. "Now, first question."

Tony sighed once more. "Okay, let's get this over with," he ignored the look Rhodey sent him and continued, "If you could be a superhero, which one would you be?"

Rhodey nodded and smiled towards the girl just opposite of the makeshift wall. "Girl number one, your answer?"

"Um," the squeaky, modulated voice of girl number one, spoke nervously, "Superman, because he's super strong I guess."

There was a few moments of silence. During that silence, Tony looked up to Rhodey in annoyance. He tried to send his annoyance and boredom via glare. After a few moments, Rhodey started to gesture to him as if he wanted him to say something. This charade went on for a few moments as Tony couldn't understand a word Rhodey was trying to tell him.

Rhodey sighed. "You're supposed to invite girl number two to speak!"

"Why? You never told me I had to do that," Tony protested.

"Well now you know," Rhodey said.

Tony shook his head, annoyed. "Fine, girl number two, your answer."

A lower toned voice spoke next. "I'd be Spiderman, because he's got the best girlfriend ever! Plus, I'd get cool spider powers!"

"Girl number three?" Tony spoke after a moment of thought.

"Iron Man, because he's not genetically altered, from an alien planet, or from fairy tales," the third girl replied in the lowest voice of the three girls. There was no doubt that the voice modulators worked.

Tony nodded his head in thought. Couldn't he just choose after one question? Obviously he'd choose girl number three. She was a big fan of Iron Man, and he was Iron Man. Too bad he knew that wasn't how dating games worked. They weren't that simple and short. Much to his dismay.

"Next question!" Rhodey exclaimed, way happier than he should be. Why is he happy when Tony was obviously suffering?

"Next question…" Tony's voice trailed off as he tried to figure out his next question. All the questions were either too awkward for him to ask aloud or just plain weird to ask three random girls. He shook his head, knowing he had no other choice. "What do you do for fun?"

"Girl number one," Rhodey spoke up, "Your answer."

"Wait," Tony interjected, "aren't I supposed to say that?"

"Not to girl number one," Rhodey replied.

"Why?"

"Rules are rules."

Tony decided not to argue against it, because he already knew he'd lose. He didn't seem to be very good at winning arguments. Not when they were against Rhodey. Rhodey always won their arguments. No matter how petty the argument was in the first place. Tony was a genius, but he had no clue on how to win an argument against his closest friend. How sad was that?

"Well," girl number one began, "I like to bake cookies when I'm bored. Oh, and go on long walks in the park."

"Sounds like fun," Tony said, "Alright, girl number two."

He really hated this.

"I like to go shopping when I've got the time, and I love going to parties," was girl number two's response.

That sounded a lot like Whitney. But Rhodey promised that Whitney wasn't there, right? "Cool, girl number three."

"Hanging with friends and taking pictures when I'm really bored," answered girl number three.

Nodding his head absentmindedly, he looked to Rhodey. "How many questions are there?"

"I don't know," Rhodey replied. "I didn't count."

"Do I have to ask _all_ of them?" Tony asked. He really didn't want to drag this game on any longer than he should. He didn't want to play this in the first place. Seriously, he didn't know why he couldn't choose right now.

He could already tell that girl number one would be the nicest of the three. Probably the most polite one as well. Girl number two, seemed like she'd be a bit more high-maintenance than the other two. Also the most active one. Girl number three appeared to be a little more laid back than girl number two, but not so polite and kind as girl number one. So far, he'd say the odds were leaning towards girl number three.

Couldn't he just choose her and be on with it? Because he really, _really_ didn't want to take part in this game anymore.

"Yes, you do." Rhodey answered his question.

Tony groaned quietly. "Fine, next question," he looked at the sheet in front of him and decided to ask the first question he saw. If it was embarrassing or awkward, it wouldn't matter. He'd have to ask it eventually anyways. "If you had to choose between love and no money or money and no love for the rest of your life, which would you choose?"

"Ooh," Rhodey smiled, "an interesting one."

Tony rolled his eyes and Rhodey spoke his regular words to girl number one.

"I guess, love and no money, because money is only used to control, while love is used to work together," answered girl number one after some thought.

"That makes sense," Tony commented. "Girl number two?"

"Money and no love," answered girl number two without a second thought.

"Why's that?" Tony found himself asking. Great.

"Money buys you pretty much anything you need. And you never said anything about really liking someone, so I could get the money and part of the love all in one." Girl number two replied.

"Hmm," Tony said, nodding. "Girl number three?"

"Love and no money," she answered simply. "It should be obvious, because without love a relationship would never last, not even money could save it."

Tony nodded silently. Her answer made sense, but so did girl number one's response. Girl number two was seeming more selfish now. Was she trying to throw him off? Then again, Rhodey had mentioned that they knew he was rich to them. So she probably just figured that money wouldn't be a problem in the first place and her answer didn't matter. That didn't exactly help the fact that she was being selfish.

He mentally groaned, running a hand through his hair. Just great. Now he was putting some serious thought into all this. Did it matter who he chose? The relationship would probably never last, knowing him. He fought to keep his relationship with Whitney and they only dated for a few weeks!

"Some interesting answers!" Rhodey exclaimed. "I bet that's put some thought into our bachelor's thoughts!"

Tony stared, starting to get seriously annoyed with Rhodey's "host speak". Rhodey never spoke like that before. Ever. Tony would know. They are practically inseparable. Plus, he's known the teen since he was seven. He was bound to know something or another. This new tone was not fun to listen to.

"Can we move on?" Tony asked.

"Go ahead," Rhodey replied shaking his head in disappointment.

"Next question," Tony said, using the same tactic as before. "If you could date a celebrity, who would you choose?"

Now this question had to give him interesting answers. Based on their answers, he could tell almost exactly what each girl was like. Not that he was interested. Because he wasn't. Not at all.

"Girl number one?" Rhodey said.

There was definitely some thought put into her words, because after about two or three minutes, the girl spoke her answer. "I'd have to say Tony Stark, because he's not about the popularity and money as far as I could tell. Plus…he is kind of good looking."

Of course. Of course one of them would pick him. Now he was left blushing from head to toe, and he didn't even know who this person was as far as he knew. He assumed it was someone from school, because Rhodey wouldn't involve him in this if it wasn't. But it didn't change the fact that he wasn't expecting that answer at all. Sometimes he forgot that he was considered a celebrity. Of course, he knew he was Iron Man, but Iron Man was a different story.

"You alright?" Rhodey asked, tapping Tony's shoulder.

Tony blinked, realizing that he spaced out. "Oh, right. Um…girl number two."

"I'd say Tony Stark as well, but Justin Hammer is just so much cooler! Tony Stark is just an emotional disaster waiting to happen. He doesn't exactly have the brightest past you know. I would know, too. Plus, Justin Hammer is hot," girl number two stated her answer.

Tony was really unsure how to respond to that. He didn't know if he should be upset, hurt, or angered by that answer. On the plus side, he figured out that girl number two was definitely from school. But on the minus side, she just insulted him. Did she find him emotionally unstable?

He was starting to regret asking that question so soon. "So, girl number three?"

"Tony Stark isn't that emotional!" girl number three defended, much to Tony's surprise. "He's just an orphan, he's bound to have his down sides. Which is why, he is my answer. He needs someone to both support and help him through things when they get rough. Plus….I think he's actually…kind of…hot…"

Now he was really getting red. Couldn't at least _one_ of the girls not mentioned him in their answer? Maybe they only targeted him because they went to the same school and he was the only celebrity they really knew. Though that would be somewhat disappointing to know that they only wanted to date him because they've actually seen him in real life.

Not that he actually cared. Because he didn't. It was just a game and they were just giving their answers. Nothing special.

He looked up to find Rhodey smirking at him teasingly. He wanted to reply so badly, but Rhodey shook his head at him. Right. They didn't know it was him.

"Well, Tony Stark seems awfully popular amongst the ladies!" Rhodey teased loudly. "Are you guys trying to suck up to your host because he's best friends with the guy?"

Before any of the girls could reply, Tony spoke up, "Could we just get to the next question please?"

Rhodey rolled his eyes. "Alright, if you desire."

Rhodey was getting really annoying at this point. "What's your idea of a perfect marriage proposal?"

Of course he'd pick that question of all the other questions. If he didn't hate the game before, he definitely hated it now. No, he _loathed_ the game. Whose stupid idea was it to play this game? Right, it was Rhodey. Rhodey was not his favorite person right now.

"Girl number one, what is your answer?" Rhodey asked.

There was plenty of time that passed in silence while she gave some thought into her answer. Which made Tony realize that these girls really were trying. They wanted to be chosen and they wanted to enjoy this. And here he was hating every moment of it. Now he just seemed really inconsiderate.

"The perfect proposal for me would be, in a lake on a canoe. It would be just me and you—err—him, whoever he is," girl number one finally spoke. "The sun would be setting and the water would be calm. After distracting me, I'd turn back around to face him and he's holding the ring out. Then you know…he'd propose."

Tony nodded. "Interesting, sounds like a ton of fun. What about you, girl number two?"

Now this was bound to be interesting. He waited patiently as the girl thought.

"I know!" she exclaimed. "It'd be a public announcement right in the middle of the city, during the Christmas season. First he'd take me to fancy diner and then to the movies and under the bright lights, in the middle of the night, he'd propose to me where everyone could see."

"Fancy," Tony commented. "Cool. So, girl number three."

Surprisingly he found himself excited to hear her response. Her answers always seemed so thought out and honest. Which reminded him of how he was being sucked into the game too much. He seriously wasn't starting to like this game, was he?

After a long thought, girl number three was ready. "Somewhere not super public, maybe a family event. We'd be surrounded by family and friends and there would be lots of food and presents and music. Then he'd take me somewhere private so he could propose, and after I said yes, we'd share the news to the family just before they left."

"That actually sounds really nice," Tony said absentmindedly, only to find himself blushing madly.

Rhodey, on the other hand, was laughing his head off. "You're not embarrassed are you? It seems like you've already made your choice. But the game must go on! Next question!"

Rhodey was correct though. He was almost positive that he wanted to choose girl number three. If he really had to take one of the girls out on a date, it'd have to be her. But he already knew he couldn't stay with her in the end. Mainly because he felt that he'd be betraying a certain redhead if he started dating someone else.

Wait…betraying? What did Pepper have to do with any of this? She wasn't even here, so there was no reason to think about betraying her. Plus, they weren't even dating! And there was no way he liked her! She was just his friend and that was all.

"Next question?" Rhodey asked, once again tapping on Tony's shirt.

Oh right, he was still playing. Might as well finish up those last questions.

**How was it? I'm sure you guys all have guesses on who the girls are, or maybe not. Who knows. (I do...) :) **

**This story is expected to end within the next two chapters. Most likely the next chapter. Which could possibly be uploaded tomorrow...who knows. I don't have to do puppy sitting or baby sitting tomorrow. :) Finally! **

**Fun Fact: _I know someone who was proposed the same way as girl number one wishes, except she (the real person) explained it as a whole lot less pleasant than the way girl number one explained it. _**

**Hugs and Love, SilverPedals! :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Yes. I'm having too much fun with this story. But I'll have you know I'm halfway done with an update for one of my other stories. :) Anyways, here's a nice LONG chapter for you guys. **

**Disclaimer: IMAA belongs to Marvel/Nicktoons. Not me. **

It was getting really hard to keep playing. Now it wasn't necessarily all because he just didn't want to play, period. Now, he just didn't feel like choosing any of them, because he already knew that the relationship would probably only last one date. And it didn't feel right to do that to somebody he was pretty sure he didn't exactly know.

Too bad, he didn't really get a choice.

"Next question," he started, looking to the sheet before him. "What are you looking for in a man?"

Seriously? Why did all of the questions seem very awkward and weird?

"Girl number one, your answer?" Rhodey asked.

"Well," girl number one began shortly after, "honesty is big in my book. I don't like lies or secrets. Kindness and caring is up there too."

"Interesting," Tony commented. "Girl number two?"

"He'd have to be good looking, funny, wealthy, and things like that," answered girl number two.

"Well, that's…interesting," Tony said, unsure what else to say. "Girl number three, what about you?"

"I want honesty as well, because relationships are built on trust. I'd prefer someone who was loving and protective and selfless." Girl number three replied after some thought.

"Yeah, that sounds nice," Tony agreed quietly.

"Next question?" Rhodey offered shortly afterwards.

Tony rose an eyebrow and looked down to his sheet. "What makes you laugh?"

Rhodey pouted. Apparently the question wasn't interesting enough for him. "Girl number one?"

"Anything really. If it's funny, I'll laugh," she responded quickly.

"That's nice," Tony said, nodding his head. "Girl number two?"

"Funny movies and animals. Animals can act so weird sometimes," girl number two responded.

"Agreed," Tony said. After all, animals could be very funny. "Girl number three?"

"My friends, because they're always doing something funny," she answered happily.

Tony nodded, friends had a tendency to make each other laugh. "Yeah, that's true."

"Next question, please?" Rhodey asked, apparently already bored with the subject.

Tony shrugged. Quicker to get through the questions, the quicker this could all be over. He really wished he hadn't let himself get dragged into all of this in the first place. "Next question then." He looked back to the sheet that was slowly dwindling down in numbers, yet to him it still seemed as if he had a million questions to ask. "If you could go on a vacation anywhere in the world, where would you go?"

"Girl number one?" Rhodey asked.

"I don't know, somewhere calm and peaceful. The opposite of New York," girl number one answered. "Maybe somewhere in Africa."

"Peaceful," Tony commented. "I like it. So, girl number two?"

"Florida, it's warm there all the time and their beaches are amazing," she responded, gleefully.

"Beaches are fun," Tony said, although the only time he ever went to the beach was if Pepper dragged him there. "Girl number three?"

"Somewhere I haven't been," she answered, "which is a lot, but it'd still be nice to go somewhere else. Europe sounds fun!"

It was nice not really caring where she wanted to go. Just as long as it was new. He liked it. "Sounds like fun."

"Next question!" Rhodey cheered happily. Too happy in Tony's opinion. His misfortune was not something to cheer about!

Tony sighed. "If you woke up suddenly because your house was on fire, which three things would you save as you ran outside."

"This one's interesting!" Rhodey said. "Girl number one?"

"Well, do people count as things?" she asked.

Tony gave a blank look, unsure what the answer was himself. He looked to Rhodey questioningly.

"Up to you," Rhodey replied before the question could be voiced aloud.

Tony sighed and nodded. "Sure."

"Then I'd save my family first, then a phone, then if possible I'd grab some food to tide us over while we waited." She answered.

"Smart," Tony agreed. "Girl number two?"

For some reason, he was kind of worried about girl number two's answer.

"Family come first," girl number two began her answer, much to Tony's surprise, "my purse, and then shoes."

At least family was in there, and first too. "Right, that's also smart. Girl number three?"

"Family is a given," she answered immediately, "then my wallet, and a phone."

An interesting question indeed. They all seemed to have smart answers. Even girl number two—maybe minus the shoes, although shoes could be helpful—was smart. If that was the only question he'd been allowed asked, he didn't know who he'd have chosen.

"Also smart," Tony said.

"Okay, they're all smart," Rhodey said. "Next question."

Well, Rhodey got over that one quickly.

After sending Rhodey yet another death glare, because he _really_ didn't like playing, he looked for his next question. "What is your idea of a romantic evening?"

Now, it wasn't exactly the best question in his book, he still understood that this was typically an important question to listen to their answers. If he had to take one of them out on a date, it'd be best to at least let them enjoy that date even if it'd be the only date they'd ever have. He hated the game, but he didn't exactly hate the players. Unless Rhodey counted. Then he hated Rhodey. But because he hated the game and not the players, he felt they at least deserved something fun to come out of the game. After all, he didn't want to come off horribly rude and mean.

"Girl number one, your answer?" Rhodey spoke.

"An evening at the park, listening to the running water of the river while we had a picnic," girl number one answered simply.

He wasn't an expert on what was romantic, but it seemed nice. "Interesting. Picnics are fun…next answer, girl number two?"

He could feel that things were going to get very expensive with this answer. At least, if he had to take this girl on a date.

"Going to see a movie after a wonderful dinner," she answered, "Or maybe a fireworks show."

Affordable, he guessed. Well, money probably wouldn't be a problem anyways, but still. He wasn't the one to spend his money on things like that, so to him it seemed like a waste. It'd be fun, though. He guessed.

He really needed to stop thinking so hard on these things. It really didn't matter what it cost or what they would be doing. He didn't care. He didn't even want to be playing this in the first place.

"Fireworks sound good," he commented, remembering going to see fireworks with Pepper. Of course, Rhodey was there too. "Girl number three, what about you?"

"Fireworks do sound fun and romantic, but maybe an evening at the carnival, or maybe a homemade dinner," girl number three said.

Homemade dinner? If he was the one cooking, they'd end up ordering pizza or something. Actually, she'd probably end up cooking in the end anyways. Unless she liked leftovers or cereal. He gave a light laugh. "Hopefully, I'm not cooking…"

"Yes," Rhodey agreed as girl number three laughed. "Do _not_ let him cook!"

Tony went to protest, but Rhodey gave him a warning look causing him to change his plan and instead he was sending daggers towards Rhodey by means of glare. He _really_ hated Rhodey at that moment.

"Next question then?" Rhodey asked.

Tony looked down to the paper and gave out a relieved sigh. There were only two more questions. He instantly took back his sigh of relief when he realized what questions they were. _Come on,_ he mentally groaned. Has he mentioned he hated Rhodey?

"Next question," he began nervously. He shouldn't be nervous. It wasn't that bad. "If you friend could not have a child, would you carry her child for her?"

He didn't know how much of what he had just said was coherent, but he did not want to repeat himself. Apparently he was understood, because Rhodey gave him a stunned look. Why was Rhodey shocked? He did write these questions, didn't he?

"A bold question," Rhodey remarked, "girl number one?"

There was several minutes before the girl spoke. She must have had a lot to say, or was just really bothered by the question. He should have just said that he was out of questions. Or refused to ask the last ones.

"I guess I would, because that's what friends are for," she said. "I mean, friends aren't for carrying their friend's babies, I meant…friends help each other…"

Tony nodded, his face red. He can't believe that that question was on the sheet. It wasn't bad, it was just so out of the blue, and something he never really thought of. Or wanted to think of as of currently. "Okay, girl number two."

"I don't know about that one. It depends on how close of friends we are," she answered.

Tony nodded quickly, although he knew they couldn't see him. "Girl number three."

He really hated this game and Rhodey.

"I would, because they would deserve to be able to have something that most others have, and it'd be the right thing to do," girl number three replied.

Again, Tony found himself nodding. All their answers seemed honest and he guessed that there was really no wrong answer. Well there wasn't really a wrong answer for any of the questions, but that didn't really matter.

"Next question, then?" Rhodey offered, to break the silence that was forming.

"And the final one, too," Tony added.

"What?" Rhodey asked surprised. "That went by way too fast!"

"Alright," Tony began, "final question…Um…" he paused, unsure how to continue. His face was soon beet red as finally brought himself to ask the final question, "Do you want children in your future?"

Again, he wasn't entirely sure how well anybody could understand him, but he didn't care. As long as they got the point of the question.

"Wait, what?" Rhodey asked. "Repeat that?"

Tony couldn't be positive, but it sounded as if Rhodey was actually teasing him. That meant he actually heard what was said, but just wanted to make Tony say it again. Tony sent the deadliest glare he could manage as his face heated up again.

"Do you want children in your future?" he stuttered out finally.

Honestly, there really was on wrong answer for this one. He didn't even know if he wanted children. It didn't seem like the worse idea, but he wasn't a children person. He wasn't good with kids. He'd probably be the worst father in the world. But he had to admit, they were quite cute.

What was he thinking? He's thinking way too hard on all of this. It didn't matter what he thought. It was the last question. It had to be asked. He had to stop fretting about it. It's not like any of these girls were going to still be with him by the time he knew the answer.

"Girl number one?" Rhodey asked. The girls may have not noticed it, but there was an underlying tone to Rhodey's voice that said that he wanted to laugh at Tony and his misfortune.

He was still glaring as he listened to girl number one's response. "Um…well, children don't sound like a bad idea. As long as I'm ready, I'd love to have kids! Just…not yet…"

"Yeah…" Tony mumbled quietly, dropping his glare at Rhodey. "Girl number two?"

"Maybe, it the right person comes along," girl number two answered slowly. "But not any time soon. Definitely not."

Tony nodded. "Okay, girl number three?"

There was another moment of silence before she responded. "In my future, yes. It's an experience that I'd enjoy to have and it'd…be amazing if I…had them with the right person."

He was glad he wasn't the only one who paused and stuttered when he spoke. He nodded. "Yeah, okay…"

Rhodey started clapping loudly, causing Tony to jump. "Hooray! That end's our game! Now for the best part! We'll give you a moment to decide."

Tony should be happy. He was finally done! Maybe not completely done, but now there was just no more questions. That was the only thing worth celebrating. Now he had to choose. And he was going to hate choosing more than he hated playing the game.

He bit his lip nervously. Did he really have to choose someone? Rhodey wasn't going to laugh at him when he chooses, was he? He better not, because Tony owed him a punch or two. Dating isn't something that was supposed to be messed with like this. At least in Tony's opinion.

He shook his head clear of those thoughts to allow him to make a choice. Girl number one, seemed nice and caring. She sounded like she had a good head on her shoulders. He couldn't see anything wrong with choosing her. Girl number two, on the other hand, didn't seem to be right for him. Even if he could care less who he chose. She seemed strikingly similar to Whitney, and to anybody who knew him, it would seem as if he missed her. That wasn't something he wanted to do. Then there was girl number three. She was similar to girl number one in a few ways. She seemed both smart and easygoing. Maybe if he chose her, he would end up getting something good out of this whole deal.

He sighed. Really, it was between girl number one and girl number two. It'd be nice to know their names. Then they wouldn't be forever known as girl number one, two, or three to him. Plus, if he knew them, it'd be ten times easier. Or harder…

"Have you made your decision?" Rhodey asked, walking closer to Tony.

Tony shook his head. No, he hadn't made his decision. The only thing he's accomplished was eliminating one of them. One or three? It should be easy, knowing that in the longhand it wasn't going to matter. He hated to think so negatively on this, but he doubted that they would last more than one date. It was one thing for Whitney to withstand dating him for weeks on end, because she grew up with him. She obviously saw something in him that others probably won't see. Plus, he already knows he doesn't make for the world's best boyfriend.

"Any day now," Rhodey said. "I will start a timer."

"Seriously?" Tony demanded. "Do I have to pick one?"

"Yes, you do," Rhodey replied.

"No, I can't pick one!" Tony said.

"Ten! Nine!"

"Really?" Tony asked. "You're going to count?"

"Eight! Seven!"

Rhodey continued his counted while Tony tried to talk his best friend out of it. Rhodey was at four by the time Tony really started freaking out. "What happens when you get to zero?"

"I'll pick one for you," Rhodey said simply. "Three! Two!"

Tony just about had it with Rhodey and his games. He did _not_ need Rhodey's help in finding a date. He didn't! He just needed time is all!

"One! Ze—"

"I pick three!" Tony shouted. He hated that the counting stressed himself so much. Stupid counting. Stupid game. Stupid Rhodey.

"Final decision?" Rhodey asked.

Tony rolled his eyes. "Yes! My final decision. Now can I go now?"

"Not quite yet!" Rhodey said. "You have to see who you're going to take out."

Tony groaned. This was the part he dreaded most. Choosing wasn't necessarily hard, it was just stressing. Now, he had to reveal if he picked the right person. Though, if he didn't know any of the girls, then there really was no right or wrong person.

"Would you like me to remove the curtain to reveal her? Or would you like to walk over to her?" Rhodey questioned.

"I don't care," Tony said.

"Alright, don't say anything yet," Rhodey told him as he removed the mic from in front of him.

Rhodey then proceeded to drag him out of his seat. Tony left the sheet of questions behind and followed behind his closest friend. Well, former closest friend, because close friends don't force each other to partake in dating games.

At some point, he had closed his eyes. Unsure whether or no he really wanted to find out or not. Maybe he could run out of there with his eyes closed and never return. That's it. He'll run away and live in his armory forever.

"You can open your eyes you know," Rhodey informed him.

Tony bit his lip harder then he probably should have and opened his eyes.

He instantly found himself speechless.

**O.O I wonder who it is? (Oh wait...I already know) But you don't~! ;P You can have your guesses, though. **

**Fun Fact:_ You already know that I'm terrified of shots, but for some reason I don't mind getting my blood drawn. Is that weird?_**

**The next chapter will be the last chapter. Which is probably the quickest I've ever finished a story! (That's not a oneshot) Yay, then I can refocus on my other stories. Which, I never lost sight on. :)**

**Hugs and Love, SilverPedals! **


	4. Chapter 4

**You guys are either going to love me or hate me after this. Who knows. But still, HOORAY! I was able to finish this before school started back up! **

**I keep forgetting to mention, and I don't know if it was really necessary, but this takes place when Tony still lived with the Rhodes. So, sadly, there is no Howard. **

**Disclaimer: IMAA does not belong to me. We've established this. Now...*drum roll* **

Honestly, he didn't know how to react. The only thing he could do, was stand there with his jaw practically hitting the floor. All while his heart skipped many beats and his face turned beet red and his fingers started to shake. He didn't know if it was because he was angry or possibly even excited. In the end, he was really unsure what to say and/or do.

He could only stand there and stare, not even hearing Rhodey's laughter. Maybe he was overreacting, but his world felt as if it was spinning. It felt like everything was turning against him, yet working with him all at the same time.

Despite his stunned silence, he was confused. He didn't know what it was exactly that he was expecting, but he was at least expecting to see something else.

He was at least expecting to see three girls sitting on the opposite side of the makeshift wall.

He even expected Rhodey to be lying about Whitney being there. Possibly even Pepper.

But he wasn't expecting to see Pepper standing there waiting for him on the other side. Alone.

He blinked. He blinked again. Several more times. Now he was _really_ confused. He was positive that there was three girls. But…where were they?

In front of him, stood Pepper and only Pepper. The chairs where girl number one and girl number two would be sitting, were left empty. But each chair had their own separate mic and voice modulator set up in front of them. Not to mention that Pepper didn't even look remotely surprised that it was him, even though his voice had been changed as well.

"Tony?" she spoke after the very long silence.

"Uh…" was the best he could manage as she looked at him patiently.

"Tony, you're going to have to say something sometime," Rhodey reminded him.

His first instinct was to run, but his own legs wouldn't budge from underneath him. He didn't know what to feel anymore. He felt lied to and played with. He was angry. Though deep down, he was kind of happy. But he couldn't feel that happiness beneath everything else. Not after they just made him play something he really didn't want to play. They made him ask the worst questions. They knew exactly how everything was going to turn out.

And here he was, fretting about picking the wrong girl! He was actually concerned that people would actually be upset by whatever girl he chose. At some point, he felt bad for treating the game horribly because it would ruin it for others. Yet, they knew that there was only one person to choose from. They knew from the get-go that Pepper was going to be chosen whether he wanted to or not.

He stepped back slowly at first. Rhodey stepped back as well, fully prepared to catch him if he ran. Tony swallowed, knowing that with Rhodey chasing him, he'd never make it out of the garage. He wouldn't even make it past Rhodey in the first place.

"Tony just give it a chance!" Rhodey insisted, trying to convince Tony not to run.

"You _lied_ to me!" Tony shouted, not glancing Pepper's way.

"You would have said no if you knew she was there!" Rhodey said. "Plus, you chose her, Tony."

"They were all her in the first place!" Tony snapped. "It didn't matter which one I chose, it still was going to be Pepper!"

Rhodey shook his head. "No, only one of them was her. The other two were pretend. And you chose the one that was truly her."

"What?" Tony asked, confused.

Pepper stepped forward to speak. "Girl number one and girl number two gave fake answers to throw you off. I asked Rhodey to help me and he suggested this."

"That way," Rhodey explained, "if you chose her, it meant that you liked Pepper the way she is."

"Of course, I like Pepper the way she is," Tony stated as if it was obvious, "I wouldn't like her if she pretended to be someone else."

Rhodey smirked. "Which, is exactly the point."

Once again, Tony was silent. Was this Pepper's strange way of asking him out? Because what he got out of that whole conversation was that it wasn't Rhodey who was pulling the strings, but Pepper. Rhodey didn't make him play this game. Pepper did. If that's the case, then maybe he didn't hate the game, he just hated that it was all a lie.

"Oh Tony?" Pepper broke the silence once more.

"Uh…Yeah?" Tony asked.

"I'm sorry for what I said," she apologized. She stopped him before he could speak again. "You know, as girl number two…I honestly don't think that you're emotionally unstable."

Tony scratched the back of his neck. He'd forgotten all about that actually. "Yeah, sure. It's alright."

Pepper laughed nervously. "I just really didn't want you to pick girl number two."

Rhodey nodded. "I know I could tell. Were you trying to answer like Whitney would have?"

"Yeah, because I knew Tony _really_ wouldn't have chosen girl number two if he thought it was Whitney or a Whitney-like girl." Pepper confirmed.

"Well," Tony said, "it definitely worked."

"Girl number one was my back up plan," Pepper stated. "I answered her questions only slightly different than I would myself. Then if you chose me as her, it wouldn't be so bad, you know."

Tony understood what she meant. He just didn't understand why she felt like she had to go through of this just to get him to take her on a date. Honestly, though he would probably deny it, he'd say yes to her if she straight up asked him to. He'd even agree to it, if she demanded that he'd take her on a date. Although, he'd probably be a little reluctant, and the whole date would probably be very awkward, it all came up with the same result, right?

When he voiced his confusion, Pepper already had an answer waiting. "For one, I didn't really want to be the one to ask you out, but it was obvious that you were never going to ask me out any time soon. And if I had to be the one to ask you out, I didn't want you to say because I asked, I wanted you to say yes because you wanted to."

"That makes sense," Tony commented.

"Plus," Pepper added, "I was too embarrassed to ask you straight out."

Rhodey nodded, smirking proudly. "So she begged me to convince you to play this game because she knew she'd never get you to."

"Hey!" Pepper protested loudly. "I didn't have to beg! You were so excited that I was finally coming to terms with my feelings that you never even gave it a second thought!"

"But this never would have happened if you hadn't come to me!" Rhodey said smugly. "Admit it, you needed me."

Pepper groaned in complaint. "I didn't need you! I just…wanted to have fun with it."

Rhodey nudged Tony playfully, "So she says."

Pepper scoffed annoyed. "Whatever, at least my plan worked."

This time when Rhodey nudged Tony, it wasn't done so playfully. This time it was in a teasing manner. "Which means," he drawled out teasingly, "you have to ask Pepper out on a date!"

Once again, Tony was left speechless. It was almost as if he'd forgotten that in the end, even if there was actually three different girls, he still had to take one of them on a date. Which, turns out was Pepper. His face went brighter than a beet and a tomato and anything else red. His face burned with how red his face must have been. He felt like he was going to freak out.

He had to take Pepper out on a date. Pepper and he were going to go on a date. The word date alone sent shivers down his back.

His face still read, he clasped his hands in front of him and looked down towards his feet to hide his blush. At some point, he found his knees wobbling from the nervous tension growing inside of him. He opened his mouth to say something; anything, but couldn't find the right words.

His friends, noticing his nervousness gave him space and their patience. The silence lasted longer than the previous silence. It was nerve wracking just watching the blue-eyed genius fret about what he was going to say next.

When the silence still continued, Pepper thought the best course of plans was to kick Rhodey out. He's done what he needed to do, now Rhodey had to go. It was making Tony too nervous to speak. "Okay Rhodey, can you leave us alone for a second?"

Rhodey pouted, but nodded and silently walked out of the garage.

When it was just the two of them, Tony was no different than he was before. His nervousness was starting to make her nervous.

She was just about to give up on him saying the words, when suddenly Tony straightened up. Much to her surprise, he brought his arms up to his cheeks and began slapping his hands against the side of his face. Pepper gave a light gasp of surprise as he took in a deep breath, his eyes squinted shut, as he finally spoke, "Pepper, will you go on a date with me?"

Although she was also red, she couldn't help but laugh lightly. "Yes, I sort of have to. You know, being picked and all."

Tony spun around, his hands now shoved into his pocket. "Oh, whatever. You made me say it."

Pepper raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything.

"So," Tony said, still not looking at her, "where do you want to go?"

"Wait, right now?" Pepper asked.

Tony finally glanced her way, "Why not?"

"But I'm not ready," Pepper insisted. "I have to get dressed and take a shower. I have to tell my dad and make sure he has something to eat when he comes home…"

"Okay, okay. I'll take you home and I'll pick you up later," Tony suggested.

Pepper squealed happily. "Really?"

"Yes," Tony said with a sigh, "I sort of have to."

Pepper shoved him playfully as they walked out of Rhodey's garage. "Shut up!"

Tony laughed. "You were asking for it."

"Just walk me home, idiot," Pepper said, crossing her arms.

Tony rose his hands defensively. "Alright, just calm down."

xXx

He stood outside the house waiting for her, with flowers in his hand. The flowers weren't his idea. No, he wasn't romantic like that, so he never would have thought to bring flowers. Actually, the idea to bring flowers wasn't actually a suggestion. It was a demand. From Pepper's father himself.

After he dropped Pepper off at her house, she ran inside to do whatever it was girls did to get ready for a date. That is, after she gave him a time to come back to pick her up. He had a few hours to spare, and he pondered going to the armory until the time came, but never got to it. Only because halfway there, he received a call from Pepper's dad, who already heard about the date from Pepper.

The conversation started out innocently enough. At first he was super excited that his girl finally got a boyfriend, and that he hoped that they had a great time. Though, that didn't last long. Soon, he was practically yelling through the phone a list of demands that Tony best treat his little girl right. After demanding that Tony give her the best night of her entire life and that he wasn't allowed inside the house unless he was there himself, he told Tony that flowers were necessary if he wanted to date his daughter.

So after that conversation, he went straight home to where Rhodey was waiting to tease him nonstop about the whole ordeal. He ignored his friend's antics, and took a shower—also a demand from Mr. Potts—and sat in his room for about an hour trying to figure out what to do for their date. After a while, he regrettably had to ask Rhodey for advice on what to wear. And that was nothing short of a nightmare. He knew he was never going to live that down.

He ended up wearing black dress pants and a white dress shirt. Rhodey told him to leave the black coat behind, because that would be too formal. At that time, it was time to head out to pick up Pepper, so Rhodey kicked him out of the house after Roberta wished him luck.

Which brought him to where he stood now. He already rang the doorbell, and was just waiting for Pepper to answer. The flowers he had bought on the way there, still in his left hand. As he waited, he rocked silently on his feet nervously.

After what seemed like ages, the door in front of him finally opened. His looked up from where his gaze had fell a little while back, to meet up with something—no, someone—beautiful. He thought he'd already blushed enough for a lifetime, but his cheeks proved him wrong.

He never thought he'd live to see the day where he'd see Pepper in a dress. It wasn't a super fancy dress, but to him it was gorgeous. It flowed loosely down to just about to her knees. The whole dress was a rosy pink with floral print. A belt and a cute jacket to finish the look. Plus, her hair was done up, in what he would describe as stunning, curls.

"Y-you're beautiful?" he stuttered out.

She tucked a loose hair behind her ear. "You think?"

He shook his head, trying to clear his mind, and looked away as he thrust the flowers towards you. "For you."

He didn't look as she took them from his hand. He just willed his blush to go away, because frankly he was sick of blushing. He was a man, and men don't blush!

"Thank you," Pepper said.

"Don't thank me," Tony said, bringing himself to look back at her. "Your dad is awfully persistent."

Pepper burst out laughing at his comment. "I should have known that I should have waited to tell him. I'll go put these away and we can head out."

"Okay," Tony said as she walked back into the house.

As he waited, he thought back to how he ended up here. This morning he'd gone straight to his armory to finish up working on a new upgrade for the armor, when he finished, he'd gone home to eat dinner. Rhodey was waiting for him and told him that he had to play a dating game. And within the next twenty minutes he was beginning to play a game, he _really_ didn't want to play.

And within the hour, he'd gotten the girl he never thought he actually wanted to choose.

And here he was, giving flowers to the girl he never knew held his heart.

"Alright," Pepper smiled at him as she returned. "Ready?"

He smiled, ignoring that his cheeks were _still_ red, and offered his hand. "Let's go."

Maybe he did like playing the game. After all, it brought him to her.

**I'll leave the date and rest of the cheesiness to your imagination. Trust me, if I wrote the date, things would get SUPER cheesy in here! It was cheesy enough. **

**But, how'd you guys like the surprise? Heehee, I had that planned all along! Sorry if it was confusing...**

**Fun Fact:_ I love school shopping, just not school. Unless I've got a fun class. _**

**Hugs and Love, SilverPedals. :) **


End file.
